*Menopause*

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by Ranger Butch Force

I just wanted to bump this thread up and chat more about this.

I will probably have to have a hysterectomy soon and I'm both nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous because I'm scared about "going under the knife" even though it will more than likely be a laser. Excited because I won't be in pain anymore as well as feeling better in general.

My sex drive has gone down a bit but when I told my girlfriend that it will go back up (I read that it will on several sites), she was pretty happy about that.

So, I was wondering about others experiences with the surgery, especially with recovery time.

I was thrust into surgical menopause. The hot flashes have lessened over the past 20 years but still rear their head now and then. I am still thinking the flare ups are due to diet rather than a biochemical thing. The "heavier" I eat the more likely they recur. The "lighter" I eat, the less they happen. Carbs seem to make them worse as does dehydration.

Prior to surgery my sex drive was diminished. Excessive bleeding caused fatigue, there was pain and discomfort, and just a general ill feeling. Post healing phase, the drive returned to normal.

I dont know what the recovery/healing times are like with the new methods of doing the surgery. I had the old fashioned abdominal one. Took a good month for the internal healing. Overall a couple of months to get back to feeling like my functional self again.

The only thing I wish someone had told me was the vagina, as a muscle, will lose its strength and function as a result of the surgery and lack of use. Muscle tone and strength needed to be regained post op i.e. kegels and orgasms once this was deemed medically safe to do so.